Peterloo Massacre

I’m so happy to welcome the lovely and talented Theresa Romain to the blog today. Theresa writes witty, emotional, truly beautiful Regency-set historical romance. She’s here today to tell us about the new book in her bestselling Christmas romance series.

They’re all set in the same Regency world, so there are continuing characters even though every book stands on its own. The hero and heroine of SEASON FOR SCANDAL—Edmund and Jane—both turned up in the previous Holiday Pleasures book, SEASON FOR SURRENDER. So I hope it’s fun for readers to see these secondary characters get their own chance to find love.

Your heroine Jane Tindall is one of my favorite kinds of heroines, one who must survive on her wits and courage. What can you tell us about Jane?

Thanks! Jane is a fun character to write because she’s not quite within the bounds of polite society. She hasn’t been raised with much money or many social graces, and so she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, and a great craving to advance herself. But she’s not a ruthless person by any means! She’s also very loyal and warm-hearted. And for most of her life, she’s given that loyalty and devotion to Edmund, who turns out not to be quite the hero she thinks…

Readers are often very interested in the research we bring to our books. Did you have to do a lot of research on Regency gambling? Did you find any other interesting historical elements in which to ground your plot?

At the beginning of SEASON FOR SCANDAL, the characters play vingt-et-un, which is basically blackjack. So that didn’t take as much research as the bits of chess that come into the story later. (I am sooooo not a chess player.) But most research I did was related to social events, like how people bought ices at Gunter’s or what the punishments were for theft. I also researched a few rebellions that became part of the plot: the Irish Rebellionof 1798 and the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. On a more romantic note, I also checked out wedding traditions of the time. Jane and Edmund get married very early in the story, and so their wedding is an important story event.

You have another historical that’s recently come out. What can you tell us about it?

Thanks for asking! Besides the Holiday Pleasures romances, I’m also working on the Matchmaker trilogy of historicals. The first Matchmaker romance, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE, features a wily widow and a wounded ex-soldier in a Regency take on the Cyranoplot. ITTTT just came out in September, and the next Matchmaker book will be published in May. I’ve seen some preliminary cover art, and it’s gorgeous!

Thanks for being with us today, Theresa! Readers, Theresa is giving away a copy of her wonderful new book, A Season For Scandal. For a chance to win, tell us your favorite part of the holidays–or any holiday–for a chance to win.

SEASON FOR SCANDAL

UNLADYLIKE RISK

Jane Tindall has never had money of her own or exceptional beauty. Her gifts are more subtle: a mind like an abacus, a talent for play-acting—and a daring taste for gambling. But all the daring in the world can’t help with the cards fixed against her. And when Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly spoils her chance to win a fortune, her reputation is ruined too. Or so she thinks, until he suggests a surprising mode of escape: a hasty marriage. To him. On the surface, their wedding would seem to satisfy all the demands of proper society, but as the Yuletide approaches, secrets and scandals turn this proper marriage into a very improper affair.